The Geekend: 3/22/2015

Hi there, Geekenders! This week, Michael catches up with some anime, and Jimmy’s face finally triumphs over that wall. Check out what we’ve been up to below, and let us know what you’ve been reading, watching and playing down in the comments!

Michael Riel – Staff Writer

I’ve been taking a bit of a break from video games and am trying to catch up on my anime backlog, which is a few miles long. I’ve been keeping up with the magical boy anime Cute HIgh Earth Defense Club LOVE and Durarara x2. Based on a recommendation I began to watch Nisekoi, which is about the son of a Yakuza member who must go out with a rival gang member’s daughter to prevent a gang war from ensuing. Things only complicate when the main character’s other love interest tries to make her feelings known. It’s a decent anime with funny moments, but it lost steam about half way through, which made me move on. I’ve gotten into Log Horizon, this time actually liking it. The first time I couldn’t get into it. Sharing the same premise as SAO and .Hack//Sign, it is well executed and very well put together. The writing pace is better than that of SAO. It’s also nice seeing a quiet, awkward guy, who would generally be seen as a side character, take the reigns as main guy for once.

Jimmy Stephenson – Associate Editor

Phew! Well, that certainly took a while. I finally beat Persona Q for the Nintendo 3DS this week. As one would expect from a mashup of Persona and Etrian Odyssey, the final boss run was absolutely grueling. By the time the credits finished rolling, my save file showed that I had clocked in almost 90 hours of play. It feels great to finally have that one done, and I already have several other games lined up to take its place. I’m also still pushing through Awakened Fate Paradox, and holy cow is the story kind of dark. It’s been a while since a game made me feel this bad about the choices I’ve made. However, this feeling is one born more of shock from the outcomes than by any connection with the characters. When a moment of mercy turns into an innocent bystander being murdered, it sets a certain tone. I’m interested to see if that tend continues throughout the rest of the game.